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EPISODE FOUR: “Shady Pines Retirement Home”

PREVIOUSLY ON… SURVIVOR! With Brock, the Saap Tribe’s most contentious and aggressive member now out of the game, the tribe hoped they could establish harmony and find success in the challenges. However, not everyone was on the same page–Brock’s lone ally, Ryan, knew she was on the outs.

For the reward challenge, the castaways were given a book of Hindu mythology to study, and the information within helped Andrew to decipher the clue to the hidden immunity idol. Eager to get the idol, he threw the challenge. His plan paid off when he found the idol, but it didn’t go off without a hitch. The rest of the Saap Tribe noticed his surprising stumbles in the challenge, and suspected he threw the challenge, with only Irene willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

On Bandar, the good life got better with the addition of fishing gear, but Brett ruffled feathers when he dictated to Marina how to use it. When the Saap Tribe finally managed to win their first immunity, Brett’s bossy behavior caused Jordyne and Marina to target him. At the same time, Brett and Shelby conspired to take out Jordyne, who Brett in particular saw as the member of the tribe with the least to contribute. Gavin, who had built bonds with both Shelby and Jordyne, felt stuck in the middle.

Gavin was given a reprieve from having to choose sides when River revealed to the tribe that her mother was fighting terminal cancer at home. Feeling as though she made a mistake coming to play the game, River asked her tribe to vote her out and send her home to reunite with her mother. While most of the tribe was sympathetic, Brett sought to manipulate the numbers and eliminate Jordyne regardless of River’s wishes.

At Tribal Council, Brett voted for Jordyne as a “warning,” but got a surprise one of his own from someone else. Ultimately, River’s wish was granted, and she became the third person voted out.

Thirteen remain. Who will be voted out tonight?

The wind howls through the jungle as the Bandar Tribe returns from Tribal Council, the mood depleted and tense. Silently, Brett heads over to start tending the fire. As he prods the embers, Jordyne approaches.

“You spelled my name wrong when you voted for me. You had J-O-R-D-A-N. I’m J-O-R-D-Y-N-E.”

“You’ve got some nerve, girl, coming over here and pulling an attitude on me.”

“Get off your high horse, Brett. For 40 year old man you sure act like a teenage girl.”

“Tribal Council tonight should have been easy. River asked to leave. She asked. She said ‘I don’t want to be here anymore.’ Like, to me that’s a total no-brainer. It should have been seven votes for River, easy peasy. But of course, someone just had to put my name down. Like some kind of threat. If Brett thinks he scares me, he’s in for a rude f*cking awakening.”

“What do you think you accomplished by voting against me, huh? Like, what was the point of that? Just to rub in my face how worthless you think I am? Seriously, what the f*ck do you have against me?”

“Young lady, you need to think before you open that mouth of yours. Coming over here and getting indignant when I’m busy working to keep your ass from freezing to death. As if you didn’t vote for me.”

“I voted for River,” Jordyne says. “I don’t know who voted for you but it wasn’t me, because I wasn’t gonna f*ck over someone who was trying to get home to her dying f*cking mother!”

“Whoever made you think that you’re a good liar? Don’t play me like a fool, Jordyne. I promise you, talk down to me again and you will regret it,” Brett says.

“Jordyne thinks she’s the slickest player here, as if nobody is smart enough to see through her bullcrap. Who else would have voted against me? As if I’m too stupid to realize the truth. I can’t wrap my mind around what some of these people see in her! I can only pray that her actions tonight leave no doubt in the minds of the Bandar Tribe that this woman is a hypocrite and scourge on the team, and that she needs to go ASAP.”

“You know I didn’t vote for him, right?” Jordyne asks Marina as they stand off to the side together.

“You don’t even need to ask, chica,” Marina says. “Trust me, I wish it was me. Imagine–if we voted for him instead of River, he’d be out of here.”

“Yeah, but that wouldn’t have been fair to River to do her dirty like that,” Jordyne says.

“I wonder who did do it,” Marina ponders.

In the shelter, Rex smiles.

“Oh poor Miss Scarlet, accused with the revolver in the hall! But when we open the envelope,” he mimes pulling cards out of a tiny folder, “we find that she’s innocent! Who was it? Professor Plum?” The camera pans to Shelby. “Mr. Green?” The camera pans to Mathieu. “Mrs. Peacock?” The camera pans to Marina. “Oh, detective, don’t you know the first rule of a murder mystery? The butler always is the one who did it! …the butler is me, in case that wasn’t clear. ‘But Rex,’ you say! You’re not a butler, you’re an extremely popular and beloved meteorologist! And to that I say… if I’m not a butler, then why am I wearing a suit? Can’t explain your way out of that one with your ‘science.’ I voted for Brett because I thought it would be hilarious. And I was right!”

Gavin has head off into the darkness of the woods. Alone in the dark, he begins to cry heavily. His gangly body shakes with each choking sob.

“Ever since River told us about her mom being sick, I just can’t stop thinking about my own mom. And about my dad. I just feel really homesick right now. Like if something was wrong I have no way of knowing. When I’m at school at least I can text or call but I can’t even do that right now and I just… I guess I’ve never really thought about it and like… I feel so bad for River and I just don’t want anything to happen to my parents.”

Shelby comes into the woods looking for her ally.

“Gavin, darling? Are you crying?”

“No,” Gavin says, sobbing. Snot dribbles out of his nose.

“It’s okay that you’re crying,” Shelby says. “But please, tell me what’s wrong. Is there anything I can do to help?

“I just… I miss my mom okay? Like… what if she’s sick and I don’t know and it’s too late? What is something happens to her or my dad? Or my dog? I feel so bad for River and I.. I… I…” Gavin is now crying so hard he can barely speak. Silently, Shelby pulls him into a warm, tight hug. Gavin sobs into her blouse. Shelby kisses him gently on the cheek.

“Oh Gavin,” Shelby says, tears starting to form in her eyes. “It’s horrible sweetie, I know it is. You’re not the only one who feels scared and uncertain right now.”

“I… ju…just feel like a big baby!” Gavin bawls.

“You’re not. It’s okay to cry if you need to. That means you’re holding something in, so let it out.”

“I’m so embarrassed,” Gavin sniffs.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Crying doesn’t make you weak. On the contrary, I think you have to be strong to cry. It means you are okay with being vulnerable, and vulnerability takes courage.”

“…thanks Shelby.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Seeing Gavin have such an emotional reaction to the day’s events really tugged on my heartstrings. It was hard not to think of Jonas, my son… Sometimes, my kids feel as though I’m more of a drill sergeant than a parent. They don’t understand that when I’m tough on them, it’s because of how much I love them. They don’t understand that I’d kill for them, without a moment’s hesitation. I’d take a bullet for them. It’s amazing what this experience is teaching me. For so long I’ve felt so certain that I’ve known what’s best for my family, and for the first time in a long time I feel as though I’m challenging my perspectives. Gavin doesn’t even realize it, but he’s helping me grow.”

“Are you feeling a little better?” Shelby asks.

“Yeah… as good as I can be,” Gavin says, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“Just come back to camp with me, please? I don’t like you being out in these woods when it’s dark like this. You have no idea what could be out here.”

Gavin sniffles and nods.

“I’ll be back, just… give me a few more minutes?” Gavin asks.

“I don’t like it, but okay. Just promise me you aren’t going to get yourself killed out here. I’m counting on you, Gavin.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The sun rises over the Saap Campsite. The tribe is happily asleep in their shelter. Jamie snores gently, Vanessa curled up against him. At the campfire, Irene and Marco sit, Irene reading a passage from the bible aloud quietly.

“For being castaways in the jungle we’ve built quite the impressive library. We have a whopping two whole books now!” she laughs. “We got the book of Hindu Mythology as part of our last reward challenge. The other book is Jill’s Bible. She left it here when she was voted out. I guess she figured we could use it more than she could.”

“Oh, this is kind of pertinent,” Irene says, nothing a section of text. “Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”

“Clearly God did not have Survivor in mind when that got put it there,” Marco says.

“I’m not really a religious person. We didn’t really go to church or anything as a family when I was growing up, nothing like that. I started reading the bible because it was something to do out here. Like, there’s only so much work to be done around camp every day when you’re starving and exhausted anyway. But the more I read it, the more interesting I find it. Not in like a way where like, oh, I’ve been converted, but it’s really got some interesting stuff in here. You hear a lot about God’s love… but when you read some of the stories in the Bible, in the context of stories… you realize that he’s a very vengeful character. He’s petty and egotistical. And so as much as you have these people being punished for their lack of morality, the arbiter of it all is just as flawed, he has his own lack of morality to contend with. It’s a lot more complex than I realized. I think it’s a very appropriate metaphor for playing Survivor, actually. Because that’s also been a lot more complex than I realized it would be.”

Ryan emerges from the shelter and silently joins the others, listening as Irene reads.

“We won immunity so, you know, you can bet I’m saying my sweet prayers,” she laughs. “I’m not out of the woods yet. There are only six people on our Tribe right now, and four of them have pretty clearly put themselves in an alliance–Marco, Irene, Jamie and Vanessa. And that leaves me and the Captain fighting for that last spot. So yeah, you know, best case scenario is that we keep winning immunity, but I can’t rely on that happening, you know? So right now I just have to just keep dragging Andrew in front of that firing squad, you know? And the best way to drag him is by that idol he’s got in his pocket.”

“Speaking of ‘thou shalt not worship idols,’” Ryan whispers. “I can’t help but get the feeling that he found it, you know?”

Marco nods slightly in response. Irene looks down, unsure of how to respond.

“I just don’t want to start a witch hunt, that’s all,” Irene says after thinking for a while.

“It’s just that he’s been out there twice now, you know?” Ryan says. “I mean obviously he’s the only one who knows how hard it is to find it, but he’s had a lot of time to just look for it, you know?”

“Honestly, it just gets under my skin that he’d throw a challenge, especially one we really, really needed to win,” Marco says. “We’ve talked so much about doing this for our kids, us two, and like… how are you being a role model to your kids pull that kind of stunt? Abandoning your tribe who needs you for some stupid stuff? It’s like he’s making a mockery.”

“That’s what I mean by a witch hunt,” Irene says. “You don’t know that he threw it.”

“We don’t know that he didn’t either,” says Marco.

“The Captain and I are both dads, and I take being a role model to my girls extremely serious. I feel like playing this game for my girls means being a role model for them and playing in a way I’m proud of. How are you gonna be calling yourself a role model when you leave the people depending on you hanging out to dry? Irene, I think she just really wants to see the good side of the Captain, and I don’t blame her, I wanted to too, but at this point it’s just like… actions have consequences, man. He’s gonna reap what he’s sewn.”

“Shh! He’s waking up,” Irene warns, and soon enough, Andrew is over with them at the fire.

“Everyone sleep well?” he asks.

“Like a baby,” Ryan says. “Easier to sleep knowing someone from Bandar went home and that none of us were going anywhere, you know?

“My feelings exactly,” Andrew responds.

“I found this little guy on Exile Island,” he says, holding the idol up for the camera to see. “And uh, gosh, does it take some weight off my shoulders. It’s like an extra life in this game, so it makes me a lot less nervous. But it was a lot of work finding my buddy Ganesha here, so I want to hold on to him as long as possible. The best way to do that is by winning as many immunities as we can. We did it once, so I’m confident we can do it twice, three times, as many times as I need to. I’ll do whatever it takes to turn this team into a winning team. That’s part of being a leader.”

Andrew furrows his brow as he looks at the fire. “Nobody’s started the rice yet?” he asks.

“I didn’t want to start making rice without asking anyone,” Irene says. “I didn’t know how much longer everyone was going to want to sleep for.”

“It takes a while to cook, you know,” Andrew says. “No harm in starting early.”

“We don’t have water up here yet,” Irene says.

“We don’t have any water in that jug?” Andrew says, gesturing to one of the water jugs.

“That’s drinking water, it’s already been boiled,” Marco says, jumping to Irene’s defense. “We weren’t gonna use water that’s already been boiled and then have to boil more for us to drink. What difference does it make anyway, I can go now and get it, it won’t take that long.”

“I’m just saying, a little initiative would have been nice to see,” Andrew says. “Breakfast makes it easier to get the day started. We’re probably going to have a challenge today, I want enough time to make the rice an eat so we’re ready–seriously, did nobody think about that?”

“Don’t apologize when you didn’t do nothin’ wrong,” Marco interjects. “Hey Cap, how about you lead by example, huh? You got two perfectly good legs–why don’t you go fill that jug right now instead of bitching at us?”

“Well that’s some harsh language. I didn’t think I was bitching, I was making a suggestion,” Andrew says.

“Yeah well so am I,” Marco retorts. “I’m suggesting you go and get some water so we can cook some rice.”

“What is all this about?” Vanessa says, popping up in the shelter. “Some of us are still trying to sleep here!”

“I am very sorry Vanessa, but there’s noooo sleeping in this camp!” Marco says. “You should have been up thirty minutes ago making Captain his breakfast in bed!”

“Oh come on now, that’s not fair, that’s not what I was saying,” Andrew counters, peeved.

“What’s not fair is you coming up here first thing in the morning and getting in our faces for not having your f*cking breakfast ready on demand! What, bro? The Mexican’s gotta be your maid?”

“Don’t you dare. This is ridiculous,” Andrew says, throwing his hands up. He grabs the water jug and starts walking out of camp. “I’ll go take care of this while you finish having your temper tantrum.”

At this point, both Jamie and Vanessa are firmly awake, watching the action unfold.

“Andrew is trying to have his cake and eat it too, and it is working my last damn nerve. When it’s convenient for him to be barking orders, he’s the leader; but the second he feels like he’s been criticized he’s suddenly not the leader anymore. Like, who does this jackass think he is? I’m a leader in my life too, I run my own business and I built it from nothing. So why does he get to be in charge? Maybe it’s time for a new leader around here. And I think my first management decision? The old manager is out. Just wait–they’ll be calling me Captain soon.”

Jamie and Marco hang out together down at the water. Marco splashes his hand against the water angrily.

“I’m telling you, bro, I don’t know what it is about this situation but homeboy is bugging out, and I swear to you I am going to lose my sh*t if he keeps it up,” Marco says.

“I’m on your side here, okay? But you gotta watch it with him. The last thing either of us need is that idol popping out when he puts your name down on the paper,” Jamie says.

“What if he doesn’t even have the stupid thing? How funny would that be, he throws the challenge to find it and doesn’t even get it? Puts himself out on Exile for no good reason.”

“Most of us are feelin’ pretty darn sure that Cap threw our last reward challenge so he could go back to Exile Island and look for the idol. But he’s the only one who’s been out there, so none of the rest of us even know what it’s like, what the clues are like… nobody knows if he actually has it or not, just that he’s been tryin’ to get it. And look, Andrew’s a strong guy, he definitely contributes more in our challenges than Ryan or Irene… I just don’t want to make hasty decisions. Marco’s really annoyed, and I get why, I’m annoyed too but we gotta think through our decisions, and I wanna make an informed decision. So we gotta figure out for sure if Cap’s got the idol or not.”

“Whatever we do, I don’t want to make this decision lightly,” Jamie says. “If we can’t keep up winning, brother, it might just end up being you and me left,”

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing,” Marco says with a laugh. “That’s how it’s gonna be at the end, hey right?”

The two high-five.

“I just wanna make sure that we set ourselves up as best as possible,” says Jamie. “We’re better off with the girls on our side than without them.”

“Does that include Ryan?” Marco asks.

“Hah, very funny. You’re a real clown.”

“I’m serious, bro. Think about it. If we get Cap next, then Ryan’s ass will just have been saved, full stop. She’ll owe us, big time. Could be useful to have around.”

Jamie gives Marco a skeptical look, eyebrow raised. “You really think that would stop Ryan from schemin’ and plottin’? Like, Ryan? Ryan?” Jamie grabs his hair with his hands to make two pigtails, referencing the fashion buyer’s favored hairstyle.

“Stranger things could happen,” Marco says with a shrug.

“Ryan is here to play this game hard. She came in from day one with all engines firing, she’s always coming up with some kind of strategy or plan, and so that makes everyone a little edgy around her, because she doesn’t hide it, yeah? But, like, here’s the thing–you know that’s how Ryan’s gonna be, a leopard don’t change it’s spots. Andrew’s proven that he’s gonna be sneaky, say one thing and do another. So as far as I’m concerned, Ryan’s not a danger to me, but Cap’s a different story.”

“I feel like I’ve gotten this really unfair reputation as, you know, this, like, snake or something, and I just don’t know where it came from. Like, sorry that I get this is a game and that means you have to actually play it. I think that’s finally starting to get through to some of these people, you know? Like, okay. So, like, the king cobra is the king because it actually eats other snakes. And like, that’s Andrew. You think I’m the snake you have to worry about? He’s gonna eat me for breakfast! And then he’s gonna go after the rest of these little mice one by one.”

Saap is the first to enter the arena, this day alongside the bank of the river. Bandar’s gold flag follows in the distance.

“Saap, getting your first look at the new Bandar Tribe,” Jeff announces. “River voted out at the last Tribal Council.”

The Tribes both take their places at the mat.

“Ready to get to today’s reward challenge?” asks Jeff. “Here’s how it works. You will use a bucket to scoop water from the river. You will then work together, passing the water from tribemate to tribemate and into a container. When the container fills, it will drop, releasing a ball. Two tribemates will then use that ball to solve a vertical maze. Wanna know what you’re playing for?”

The castaways cheer in excitement.

“You guys have been out here now for ten days, I’m sure everyone is starting to tire of the conditions. And if you’re tired, what better than some comfort?” Jeff pulls the cover off the reward, revealing a pile of pillows and blankets. Jordyne excitedly smacks Marina on the arm. Ryan jumps up and down in excitement.“The winning tribe will head home today with blankets, pillows, chairs, and a hammock. I’m sure this will make things around camp feel much more like home. In addition, the winning Tribe wins the right to send one member of the losing Tribe to Exile Island. Bandar, you have one extra member, you can’t sit the same people out in back to back challenges. Marina and Gavin sat out last time, they must compete today. Who will sit out?”

“I’m allergic to water, Jeff,” Rex says, raising his hand.

“Rex, take a seat on the bench. Everyone else, I’ll give you a minute to strategize, and we’ll go ahead and get started.”

Andrew and Matheiu stand at the water’s edge, buckets in hand, ready to begin.“For Bandar,” Jeff announces, “We’ve got Gavin and Jordyne on the maze. For Saap, Irene and Marco.”

SURVIVORS READY? GO!

Andrew and Mathieu both rush forward, quickly dunking the buckets deep in the water, pivoting as quickly as they can to return to their tribe mat. Mathieu arrives first by seconds, and carefully draws his arms back. He pitches the bucket high up to Shelby, who catches it. The water arcs from the bucket slightly upon impact, splashing much of it on her.

“There is a learning curve to this!” Jeff shouts. “You need as much of that water in the bucket as you can get!”

Andrew tosses the bucket next to Ryan, who fumbles it. She swears and apologizes, tossing the bucket back to Andrew.

“Bandar seems to be getting the hang of things,” Jeff announces. From Mathieu the bucket goes to Shelby, then Brett.

“This is the tricky part, getting the water from bucket to bucket,” Jeff says. Brett pitches the water from his bucket. It makes a fairly clean arc, and Marina is able to catch most of it.

“Good work guys!” Gavin encourages.

“Saap starting to get in on this,” says Jeff. From Mathieu the bucket goes to Vanessa, the water alone from Vanessa to Jamie. Much of the water splashes uselessly against Jamie.

“In the bucket, Ness!” he says, frustrated.

As time passes and Saap is better able to adjust to the demands of the challenge, they start to pick up a rhythm. “Saap, looks like with this next bucket,” Jeff says, watching Jamie pour more water into their container, “might be enough to pull them ahead of Bandar!”

“We’ve got to move faster,” Marina insists.

“Slow and steady wins the race,” Shelby chimes in. Mathieu throws her the next bucket, and she fumbles when catching it.

Saap, meanwhile, seems to be continuing to make good progress. “Let’s go Saap!” Marco cheers from the maze station. Andrew pitches his next bucket to Ryan, who almost stumbles, but makes a strong save. She passes to Vanessa, who this time manages to get almost all the water in Jamie’s bucket.

“We’re almost there! One more will do it!” Jamie announces excitedly.

“They’re, catching up!” frets Marina, as she pours her next bucket into her container.

“Not very much water in Bandar’s last bucket at all,” Jeff says, shaking his head.

On the Saap mat, Vanessa readies what could be her final throw. Not all of it lands in Jamie’s bucket, but it’s more than enough. The container sinks, releasing the ball from it’s position. It rolls down a ramp, where Marco grabs it.

“Saap is now moving on to their maze! It’s all on Marco and Irene now.”

“Marco and Irene are making steady progress already,” Jeff announces. “Bandar still needs to start, their running out of time!”

“Oh, that was a good one!” Jordyne exclaims as Brett once again tosses the water to Marina. This time, she is able to get a large amount. It is just enough for the container to start to fall.

“Go, Bandar, start you maze!” directs Jeff. Gavin grabs the ball and drops it into the top, as he and Jordyne quickly begin to work.

“Bandar still has time to catch up,” says Jeff, “but Saap has been working well this whole challenge.” Delicately, Marco releases some of his rope, while Irene pulls hers. The wheel of the maze jerks quickly, and the ball surges forward. “Just like that, a huge move from Saap. Bandar has to get going!”

“Turn back the other way,” Jordyne insists to Gavin. “We don’t want to be going this way, it needs to go down–see that little left, right there?” she points.

“I don’t think that’s right but okay,” Gavin agrees begrudgingly.

“You’ve got this!” Ryan encourages over on the Saap mat.

“I think I see how to do the last part,” Marco tells Irene. “Down, in three, two, one!”

Working together, Marco and Irene navigate their wheel. The ball falls through a gap. “Now!” Marco yells. Irene quickly jerks her end of the rope. The wheel turns sharply and the ball drops onto the outer ring of the maze.

“We’re almost there,” Irene says, slowly releasing her end.

“This could do it for Saap! Jeff announces. Irene and Marco spin the wheel one last time. The ball rolls to the bottom and clunks out into the bucket at the base. Behind the wheel shaped maze, a green flag shoots up a pole and unfurls.

“SAAP! WINS REWARD!”

Marco throws his hands up and yells in joy. Irene jumps into his arms as the rest of the tribe runs over to congratulate them. Over on the Bandar mat, Jordyne looks over, dejected.

“Congratulations, Saap,” Jeff says as the tribes stand again at their mats. “Now before you grab your reward, you’ve got a decision to make. One member of Bandar going to Exile Island. Who’s it gonna be?”

The tribe huddles quickly, and after a brief moment of whispering, Vanessa turns to Jeff. “It’s gonna our very sexy friend with that lovely accent, the good doctor,” she says. Mathieu nods. “He’s the biggest gun in their arsenal,” Jamie says. “We gotta take our chance n’ weaken him.”

“It’s all good,” Mathieu says, smiling broadly. He approaches Jeff, who hands him the map.

“Have fun Mathieu!” calls Marina as he waves to his tribe.

“Saap, come get your reward, head back to camp,” Jeff says. Dripping wet, Jamie comes over with a smile and grabs the pile of blankets from the table while Vanessa and Ryan start collecting the pillows. “Hope this makes it a little more plush.” With the Tribe Flag in hand, Irene is the last one out.

“Bandar? After a steady string of wins, this is loss number two. Hopefully you guys haven’t lost all of your momentum. I’ve got nothing for you–head back to camp.”

“Saap is back in business, baby! Going back to camp for a nice nap on a hammock? That sounds way better to me than going back to Exile. I feel bad for poor Matty, that’s for sure. Nothing’s waiting there for him but a lot of time on his hands!” He laughs, dangling his idol.

The treetops ruffle in the breeze. The camera pans over the camp, where Vanessa and Irene are lazing in the tribe’s newly won hammock.

“We won a reward, finally! And it was a really good one, you know? I think everyone slept really good last night with the blankets and the pillows, oh my god! I actually slept like, okay for the first time in ten days? Our mood is going up, the confidence is going up, and that means people’s guards are going down. So this is where I strike.”

“Hey guys, can we chat real quick?” Ryan asks.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Irene asks.

“I’ve been thinking a lot ever since it happened about needing to say something, but like, I just wasn’t sure how to say it, you know?” Ryan says. “And so, like, basically I just wanted to apologize to you guys for, you know, not sticking up for you guys when Brock said those things he said. I was thinking with my head in the game, and like, not as a person, you know? I was working with Brock and I didn’t want him to feel like I wasn’t on his side, and like, that was really not cool of me. I’m really sorry.”

“Actually, if I can be really honest for a second,” Irene says, “when Brock called me like…”

“You don’t have to say the word,” Vanessa reassures.

“Yeah, I know what he said,” Ryan says quietly, averting her gaze.

“I mean, it’s just like a really sensitive subject for me. Like, if I’m honest, I still don’t really know what I am. Like, sexuality-wise. Who I like and who I don’t. It’s not something I really like to bring up and I know he didn’t know, but like, if he did that wouldn’t have stopped him from saying anything. So just having it come up that way was, ugh. It was embarrassing, you know?”

“Oh boo!” Vanessa says, wrapping Irene in a tight hug. “You don’t have to have an answer to that question,” she says. “That’s nobody else’s business if you don’t want it to be.”

“Don’t worry about it. Like, remember, in real life I work in fashion. In Los freakin’ Angeles, you know? I’m around a lot of gay people every day. And like, in my normal life if I ever heard that someone said that I would have immediately said something, you know?”

“Irene has a really good heart. She wants to see the best in folks, and I think that’s really great, I do. But you got Andrew over here throwing challenges and all kind of what not; you’ve got Ryan over here, always with a trick up her damn sleeve or some kind of scheme. She’s acting like she’s suddenly real genuine and all I can think is that someone needs to send this shady bitch back to Shady Pines Retirement Home for Shady Ladies where she belongs. I think she’s kissing the asses she has to kiss to keep herself in the game. Because right now, she knows that the second we walk back into Tribal Council, she might as well just take the thing from Jeff and just, you know *boop,*” she motions snuffing the torch, “put the fire out herself.”

“And like, you know, it’s funny, because fashion is what made me bond with Brock in the first place. Like, he’s a model, he’s around a lot of gay people too, especially in New York, you know? So like, I’m actually still really surprised he didn’t know better than not to, you know, say that stuff.”

“Maybe he was faking it,” Vanessa says.

“Why would someone lie about something like that? Like, that’s so random, you know?” Ryan asks.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” Jamie says to Andrew as the two walk in the forest, Jamie with an axe and Andrew with a machete.

“Me too,” Andrew says. “That one log on the shelter could have been fixed ages ago.”

“Well yeah that too, but I meant more that I’m glad we got a chance to talk, just you and me,” Jamie explains.

“Really now?”

“Yeah, absolutely. Cause see, I’ve been thinking ahead, and uh, trying to figure out what my best move is as the game moves forward, and I think we can help each other.”

“Well I am definitely listening.”

“So here’s what I’m thinking,” Jamie begins. “Once Ryan’s out, that’s five of us left–you, me, Marco, Ness, Irene,” he counts on his fingers. “And I don’t want to wait until we get to that point to figure out what happens and have it be too late. Because I don’t think the girls will vote against each other. And I’m sure you wouldn’t be shocked to hear that Marco and I wouldn’t be voting for each other.”

“Agreed. I would expect as much.”

“So I got two options, basically. One is that Marco and I and the girls all vote for you.”

“Pardon me?”

“I’m just saying, it’s true, Captain, that’s an option. Me taking this axe and cuttin’ my fingers off is an option too, don’t mean I’m gonna do it. Cause the other option is that you, me, and Marco stick together. As deep into this as we can go.”

“That,” Andrew says, “is an option that would be much more personally appealing to me.”

“And uh, so along that line, I’ve got something to tell you. Because I want you to be clear that I trust you, Captain. Okay? I ain’t told nobody else this, but when I’m aligned with someone I expect us to have total, up front honesty, you know? Because what’s the point otherwise?”

“Absolutely,” agrees Andrew, clearly curious as to what Jamie could have to say.

“So uh, I lied in this game already. About who I am. It’s not a big deal, but you know how I said I work at my Pa’s fish shop?”

“Oh man, what are you really? A cop? A poker player?”

“I’m a volunteer coordinator with SPLC. Southern–”

“Poverty Law Center,” finishes Andrew. “Yeah, I’ve heard of them.”

“It’s just when you come into a situation like this where people are gonna be votin’ each other out and stuff, you don’t want to give nobody a reason to vote you, ‘specially early on,” Jamie says. “Like, I know some people don’t have a lot of fondness for an organization like ours. And it’s not a big deal, I know, but once I lied about it in the first place, I just didn’t really want to tell no one and suddenly make them suspicious.”

“I don’t think it makes you suspicious, Jamie. I think it makes you cautious, which is an extremely reasonable way to be in this game. I, quite frankly, think I could use a little more caution.”

“That’s a big relief to hear, Captain. So what do you say? You in this with me?”

“So, uh, any big secrets you wanna get off your chest?” Jamie asks. “Because here’s the other thing, I mean, I would hope this would be clear that this? Us? That’s a give and take; totally equal. If I find out that you had something you were holding back from me? That, y’know, that would be a real dealbreaker there.”

“Oh, of course. No, I get that, that’s totally fair,” Andrew says. “You caught me, this is a fake beard,” he says with a laugh.

“I knew it!” laughs Jamie in return. “But seriously Cap–there’s nothing you’re keeping from me, right? We’re all on the up and up?”

“Yeah, of course,” Andrew says. Jamie stops walking, and Andrew stops right after. He turns towards the other man only for Jamie’s eyes to catch his directly. Jamie stares, unflinching at Andrew.

“Nothing? For sure?” Jamie asks, speaking slowly.

“For sure.”

There is a loud clang as the machete slips from his grip and clatters on the ground.

“This heat,” Andrew says with a small laugh. “My hands are so sweaty. Let’s find a good tree and just get this done so we can rest for the day.”

“Yeah,” agrees Jamie.

“I had to be extremely tactical with the Captain today, and uh, it wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world, lying through my teeth to him like that. I mean I could work with Captain down the road if that’s what ends up being best for me. But I know that he wasn’t just gonna up and tell me if he had the idol without me offering something first, making it worth his while to be honest with me. And yeah, he said he didn’t have secrets, but I wasn’t born yesterday. I don’t think he was being honest for a second about not having that idol, and the fact that he’d lie about it when I gave him an opportunity to come clean? Cap’s great in the challenges, and he’s a good guy. He’s got a good reason to want to win, cause he’s got a family, and I do really respect that. But hey, he said it to me himself–it’s good to be cautious. And I’m really cautious of that man.”

Marina and Jordyne head down to the water. Together, they get into the canoe. Marina uses a paddle to push off.

“Ugh,” moans Jordyne. “I can’t believe I let you convince to do this.”

“Well I appreciate you standing in for Mathieu. And I promise you, getting the fish from the net isn’t that hard. Don’t be a big baby.”

“So I really wanted that reward, badly. Pillows? Blankets? Oh my god. Like I’m so dirty and hungry, I don’t think I’ve thought about sex once in almost two weeks, but thinking about a pillow and blanket is almost enough to get me hot and bothered!” She laughs. “And ugh, we didn’t win. So I think in my devastation I suffered from temporary insanity and told Marina I’d come with her to collect any fish that got caught in our nets? I mean, in case it’s not abundantly clear, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I’m glad to tag along but if Marina expects me to be any help I’m calling a time out and getting the medics in to check her head.”

“You’re doing a fine job rowing, JoJo,” Marina says. “Really, you’ve got nothing to be so nervous about. Just because you haven’t done it before doesn’t mean you’ll suck at it automatically.”

“I mean, I know that,” Jordyne says. “But like, I figure when I’ve never done it before and other people have, like, why get in the way, you know? Like my strategy this whole time has just kind of been stay out of the way if I don’t know what I’m doing, not step on people’s toes.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been doing a lot of other stuff you’ve never done before,” Marina counters. “Like come on. You’ve never had to strategize about how vote against other people before and you’ve been doing a pretty kick-ass job at that. Like as mad as Brett is at you, he doesn’t have the votes to stick around if we lose again, you realize that, right?”

“I don’t know if that’s the case, Reens,” Jordyne sighs. “Like… I talked to Gavin all day the other day before River said she wanted to quit. And at that point he didn’t have an answer for me one way or the other.”

“Look, if he wasn’t going to vote for Brett, who would he have voted for. You? Just because Shelby said so? Gavin isn’t going to vote against you Jordyne. If you were trying to convince him to vote for Shelby, then like, okay, fair point, I don’t think he’d do that. But Gavin is no fan of Brett’s and you know that for a fact because he’s said so! That boy is in love with you, you realize that, right?”

“Jordyne is so weird to me. I love her, don’t get me wrong, she’s going to be my friend for life, I know that, and it just breaks my heart sometimes that she can’t see herself as being as great as she is. She can be really brazen and really sarcastic, just kind of unapologetic about who she is, but it’s not always real confidence. I think sometimes she kind of acts like she doesn’t care about stuff because she’s got self-doubt. I just wish I could shake it out of her. Like, I wouldn’t lie to her, especially not about how great she is.”

“Alright, so you grab that side of the line and just help me pull it into the boat, and then we start taking whatever is caught in there,” Marina explains as they arrive at the buoy denoting where they left the net.

“Take it out with what, exactly?” asks Jordyne.

“Your hands, dumbass.”

“Ew! You just like, grab them?”

“It’s a fish, not a grenade! The worst thing that will happen is it will feel kind of gross, and like, come on. Neither of us have really bathed in almost two weeks. We’re probably grosser than anything in this water.”

The two women pull the net up into the boat, to find that it indeed has snared a dozen or so smaller fish. They flop about desperately in the boat. Jordyne squeals in terror.

“Ew, oh my god! Ahhh,” she screams, recoiling in disgust.

“It’s really not that bad,” Marina says, reaching to grab the first fish out of the net.

Tentatively, Jordyne reaches for her first fish.

“Ew, oh, eek, oh my, ee, aiieee!”

She nervously pinches the tail between her thumb and forefinger.

“You won’t get it like that,” says Marina with a laugh. “Sorry princess, but you gotta get it by the body, see?” Marina demonstrates again.

She grabs the fish out of the net and practically flings it into the bucket.

“Careful, careful!” warns Marina. “You don’t want to throw them back in the water! But you did it! I’m so proud of you, JoJo! It wasn’t that bad, right?”

“I just kind of told myself that if I can grind my buck-naked behind up on the body of some of the nastiest motherf*ckers in all of Chicago, I can definitely touch a damn fish,” Jordyne says. Marina can’t help but laugh in response.

“What if I paid you to give Brett a lapdance?” Marina asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Ew! Gross. Why, how much would you pay me?”

“We’ll negotiate that when I win the million dollars,” Marina says with a smile.

“You’ll need to take a loan out from me, actually, because I’m going to win it, bitch,” Jordyne jokes back.

“I was really proud of Jordyne today. Once she got that first one, she just kind of realized she could do it, and we just kind of flew through the rest of them. And you know, it kind of went from there. We had the fishing line, so I showed her how to use that, she actually caught a fish on her own, which was great.”

Jordyne pulls up her fishing line to find a mid-size fish flailing wildly at the end of the hook.

“AHHH! Now what?” she shrieks.

“Oh my god, hold that one down in the boat, I’ll get the hook! Great job!”

“By the time we had decided to go back in, she was really kind of starting to, you know, get into the whole process, and when we’re walking back up she’s like, ‘Hey, Reens, can you teach me how to make fire?’ I think I’ve created a monster!”

The two women are now off in a clearing, the woods visible along the edges.

“So this side,” Marina explains, “is the magnesium. It’s really flammable, so once you have your kindling, you want to use the knife to scrape a little off, and like, get a little dust pile,” Marina instructs. Hesitantly, Jordyne, crouched over a small pile of kindling, scrapes the edge of the knife against the soft magnesium.

“I don’t want to use too much, right?” asks Jordyne.

“No, but it’s like, hard to do that. There, that’s perfect. Now you want to use the other side, strike the blade against the flint…”

Jordyne is shown striking the flint repeatedly. Sparks fly, but nothing appears to be happening.

“Don’t give up,” Marina encourages.

Jordyne’s jaw clenches and her eyes tighten. Sweat drips down her face. She keeps diligently striking the flint. Sparks scatter from the blade of the knife with each blow.

Dense clouds begin to quickly escalate their pace across the sky. Their misty forms shroud the sun, shading the field where Jordyne is still striking at the flint. Marina is lying back, her buff cushioning her head.

“Oh man, it looks like it’s going to start raining soon,” Marina warns. “You want to call it for now? It’s not gonna be possible if everything is soaking wet.”

“I almost have it!” Jordyne insists. As if on cue, suddenly there is an audible sizzle as a spark catches. In the nest of kindling material, a warm ember produces a tiny flame.

“Oh my god! I told you Reens!”

“Get more sticks on it,” Marina encourages, coming to attention. She starts helping Jordyne build a teepee of smaller sticks. The flame grows larger as it catches.

“I can’t believe it!” Jordyne squeals. “I can’t believe it!”

“Can you f*cking believe it? Me? ME! I started a fire with a rock and a knife! Like a Boy Scout!”

The tiny flame is now a roaring fire. Jordyne places another log, and watches, face beaming with pride as the fire grows.

“This is going to sound like, really bad, but I honestly didn’t expect to learn anything about myself here. I’ve kind of seen it all, or at least I felt like I had. I dunno. I’ve just… I’ve been through some sh*t. And uh, sometimes I guess I do feel like if things didn’t work out before, that means they won’t ever work out, and I get in my own head. I feel like after eleven days I finally got out of my head here. And I want to stay out. Because if I can keep pushing myself, I can win this thing. I could have a real chance to put that million dollars in my bank account and change my life. So I can’t have anything weighing me down.”

“Gavin, would you please go find Marina and Jordyne and let them know that Brett is looking for the flint?”

“I can manage my own business, Shelby,” Brett says.

“Nah, it’s cool, I was gonna go to the well anyway,” Gavin says, as he gets up and heads off.

“Brett is really authoritarian and I mean… it’s getting on my nerves, for sure. But a lot of the time it’s just easier to do what Brett wants because it keeps him happy, and if Brett’s happy, then so is Shelby. But like, I don’t have to worry about that when I’m hanging out with just the girls, you know? Jordyne especially, she’s just really easy to talk to. I know it sounds, like, cliche or whatever, but I feel like when I’m with Jordyne I can really just be myself, you know? Like don’t get me wrong, Shelby’s really been there for me this whole game, but it’s like hanging out with your mom versus hanging out with your girlfriend. Like Jordyne is just way cooler, way funnier, way easier… way sexier….”

As Gavin walks through the jungle, the pattering of falling rain on leaves can begin to be heard.

The rain is starting to beat down more heavily, but Jordyne’s fire is still going. Hands clasped together, Jordyne and Marina dance in the rain as Gavin approaches.

“Hey! Brett wants you guys, Gavin calls as he gets closer. “He’s looking for the flint do you–what happened to your hair?”

“I cut it, silly!” Jordyne says with a smile. She runs her hands through her now bluntly sliced bob-length hair. Wet with rainwater, her hair slicks back, away from her face. “What do you think?”

“I–you–wow. With the knife?” Gavin stammers.

“I thought it was time for a change,” she says with a grin. “So you like it?”

Gavin opens his mouth to answer where there is a bright flash of light. The roar of thunder tears through the atmosphere.

“W-we should get back to camp,” Gavin says.

“…How do you know if you’re in love?”

In the dark of the night, the monsoon rains soak Exile Island. The rapids of the surrounding river roar deafeningly. In a lean-to perched against the side of the statue of Ganesha huddles Mathieu.

“My second night on Exile Island was miserable, worst than the first! I’ve been alone now for over twenty-four hours, and after reading the clues to the idol, and searching for it, I would say I’m fairly confident that the idol has already been found, more likely than not by Andrew on the Saap Tribe. Not only am I gaining absolutely nothing, but now? It’s raining!”

Thunder crashes and the flash of the lightning causes the island to glow. Monkeys screech in the treetops while Mathieu lies pathetically, balled up and trying to stay dry. As the night goes on the rain eventually ceases. By the time the sun is up, all is quiet again in the Western Ghats.

Mathieu stands in his green swim trunks, wringing out his soaking wet shirt. “I’ll have to find somewhere to dry my clothes,” he ponders, “but everything is wet!” He laughs to himself. “Oh goodness, this is just miserable.”

Matheiu sits at the edge of a rock at the far side of the island, watching the waterfall in the distance. “There’s a silver lining, there’s always a silver lining. It’s something my father believed firmly. And on Exile Island, the silver lining is this view. This incredible place. This jungle has become so familiar that this has actually been welcome. A change of scenery to remind me just how majestic these jungles are.”

“The Congo has suffered through a great amount of turmoil. For along time, there was war. Some have called it Africa’s World War. We were lucky to escape Africa, but it was not easy, and my father did not make it out. Honoring the lessons he taught me in the time we had together… that’s been of great importance to me. When River asked for us to let her return home, I could not deny her that. She has the opportunity to say goodbye, to have closure. I was not ready to lose my father. I was just a boy.”

Watching the waterfall, Mathieu can’t help but begin to cry. “It reminds me of home,” he whispers.

“I had my mother, I had my sisters, but America was very new to us, and it was hard. I was fifteen, and I did not know who I was. I did not know where I was. All I knew was that I wanted to help people, to make him proud. But that is very difficult to do when you are so lonely, and when all you want is to feel accepted. To be loved.”

Mathieu approaches the Ganesha statue, who now holds another scroll.

“Finally,” Mathieu sighs. “I can’t wait to get off this rock. What do we have to look forward to today, I wonder?”

He unfurls the scroll and reads the tree mail.

With eyes like an eagleSeeking its’ prey,Watch for the missileCatch it; and stay

“Immunity then. Hope it’s nothing too strenuous because I am so beaten down after this.”

“Love? That feeling of belonging, that feeling of intimate connection to another human being? That is worth more than a million dollars to me. Being here, playing this game in such difficult, testing conditions, that has reinforced to me that there are things that are more important than money. ”

The tribes both come walking in, heading to their respective mats. Jordyne pulls her buff off her head, revealing her new short hair.

“We now bring in Mathieu, returning from Exile Island,” Jeff announces, as Mathieu comes up over the hillside. Eagerly, he rejoins his tribe. Shelby and Marina welcome him with hugs.

“So I can’t help but notice, it looks like someone has had a little bit of a change in look,” Jeff says. “Jordyne, what happened to your hair?”

“It was time for a change, Jeff. Chicago Jordyne has long hair. Jungle Jordyne doesn’t,” she laughs, ruffling her hairdo.

“I just want to know where my makeover is, Tyra!” whines Rex.

“Mathieu, coming back from Exile, surprised to see Jordyne’s cut her hair?”

“Yes, because I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s not out of character,” Mathieu says. “Jordyne does what she wants, so if she wanted to try something new with her hair, more power to her. And I think you look lovely.”

“Thanks, Mathieu,” Jordyne says with a grin.

“Alright, Saap, I’m sure you’d love for us to keep delaying, but I’m gonna need that back,” Jeff says, turning his attention toward Marco, who is carrying the idol.

“Don’t get to used to it Jeff, because we’re taking it right back,” Marco says with a laugh.

“Once again,” Jeff says, placing the idol, “immunity, back up for grabs.”

“For today’s challenge, one tribe member will use a slingshot to launch balls out into the field. The other tribe members will use nets to try and catch those balls. If you catch a ball of either color, it does not matter, you will score a point for your tribe. First tribe to score five points wins Immunity and is safe from the vote. Losers go to Tribal Council where one of you will become the fourth person voted out of this game. Bandar, you have one extra member so you must sit out a man. You cannot sit out the same person in back-to-back challenges. Rex sat out last time, who will it be today?”

“I haven’t eaten in two days,” Mathieu says to the group. “I do not mind sitting this one out.”

“Gavin, take a seat on the bench. Everyone else, I’ll give you a moment to strategize, take your places, and we’ll get started.

The castways head into their positions. The castaways each start at one of four poles. “Launching for Saap, we have Ryan and Irene. Launching for Bandar, Shelby and Jordyne. Our matchups are Vanessa and Marina; Marco and Rex; Jamie and Mathieu; Andrew and Brett.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Andrew says, smiling at Brett.

“I wouldn’t be smiling if I were you,” Brett warns.

SURVIVORS READY? GO!

Ryan and Shelby both load their first balls into the slings and pull back. “Release!” Jeff shouts. The women launch and the balls go flying. The other eight castaways each rush off to make a catch. Ryan’s ball whizzes by, missing Jamie’s net by centimeters. Mathieu manages to reach and snag Shelby’s ball.

“Mathieu! Scores for Bandar.”

“Yeah!” cheers Shelby.

“Bandar leads, 1-0! That’s got them in the lead to start.”

The second round begins. Irene and Jordyne launch. Brett reaches for Jordyne’s ball, but Andrew is able to knock him off balance enough that he misses the shot. Behind him, Marco makes a dive for it, faceplanting in the mud as he leaps for the ball.

On the third round, Ryan makes a direct connection with Andrew by going short. Vanessa tries to get to the Bandar ball, but is overpowered by Marina, though she misses at well.

“Saap now leading,” Jeff announces. In round four, neither Irene nor Jordyne launch a connecting shot, leaving the scores the same as round five begins. Ryan and Shelby’s shots whip through the air. Jamie reaches for one, but Mathieu steals it. It’s followed by a quick catch from Brett.

“That puts Bandar in the lead, 3-2,” Jeff says as Irene and Jordyne ready their next shots.

“Short!” Mathieu instructs. Irene nods, and on Jeff’s go, releases. Mathieu rushes forward, Jamie on his tail, and makes a grand leap. Irene’s ball blasts much farther back, just missing Marco. Mathieu stands from the mud, triumphant, having made the catch.

“Bandar is now at 4 points! It’s going to take one more for them to win.”

“Whatever you do,” Andrew directs to Vanessa and Marco, closest to him, “do not let them score!”

The next two balls are released into the air. Jamie and Mathieu are the first to reach the location as Shelby’s ball comes roaring back to earth. They leap into the air to make the catch, and collide with one another. Ryan’s next ball goes towards Andrew, who is pushed out of the way by Brett. The ball coming closer now, Marina makes a dive for it. Vanessa attempts to keep on her, but is unable to. Marina nabs the last ball, as she lifts her net triumphantly.

“Marina scores the winning point!”

“BANDAR! WINS IMMUNITY!”

The tribes reconvene on their mats. Bandar applauds as Jeff brings them the idol. “Well earned, guys. Looks like you still have it in you.” Jordyne accepts the idol from Jeff happily. Marina hugs her, smiling broadly. “Bandar, you’ve got the night off. Good job, you can head back to camp.” The gold tribe departs, leaving Saap to just stare blankly at Jeff.

“I feel like a kid who keeps getting sent to the principal’s office,” says Vanessa.

“Saap, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. You guys have stepped it up. Wasn’t enough today. That means tonight, I’ll see the six of you at Tribal Council. One of you is going home, you have this afternoon to figure out who. You guys can head back to camp.”

“This is the worst case scenario, losing again. This is something we might not be able to recover from, and that means now it’s super vital that we make the right call tonight. Whoever’s left after tonight will have to be people who can trust each other, and that’s proving to be pretty hard to do in this kind of a game.”

“I’m used to feeling like a loser, honestly. I know that sounds bad but, I mean… I’m twenty-five. I dropped out of college, I work a retail job barely making over minimum wage… I’m not exactly anyone’s example of a ‘successful’ person. So like, I generally kind of expect that things won’t work out for me? But losing yet another immunity still really, really sucks. And since Brock’s left, I’ve definitely started to bond more with Ryan, so it’s not like there’s someone I’m hoping to see go home tonight. I really wanted all six of us to stay, and that can’t happen and… I’m just bummed. I’m bummed out.”

“Irene,” Vanessa says as she sets her bag down in the shelter, “come with me and get water?”

“Yeah, sure,” Irene says, as the two women head out of camp.

“Wait for me ladies!” Ryan calls after them. The two keep walking without stopping to let her catch up.

“Well, that’s how you know we lost immunity,” Marco chuckles to Jamie as the women disappear into the surrounding woods. “When the scrambling begins.”

“Right?” Jamie affirms.

“It’s a shame, right?” Andrew says, once he’s sure Vanessa and Irene are totally out of earshot.

“What’s a shame?” Jamie asks.

“That’s Irene’s gotta go,” Andrew says with a sigh.

“She does?”

“Well, I… I mean, you saw her in the challenge, right? She’s just… she’s not an an athletic person,” says Andrew. “You boys realize we absolutely can’t afford another loss, right? We go down to five tonight. What then? We let Bandar just bang, bang, bang–snipe us out one by one?”

“When the game gets down to ten people, Saap and Bandar will merge into one tribe, and then it’s an individual game. Right now we’re going down from six to five. That means if we lose one more after tonight, no matter what there will be more Bandars than Saaps when that merge comes. And that means they can all stay together and vote us out one at a time. We can’t afford not to think of the challenges at this time, it’s critical. And it’s sad, because I don’t want to lose Irene, but someone has to go!”

“I don’t disagree with any of those points,” Jamie says, choosing his words carefully, “but we’ve been in agreement as a tribe for days now that the plan was Ryan next.”

“I had to keep my mouth shut the whoooole time. And that’s not my strong suit, dude. I mean, come on, bro, how frickin’ cocky can you be? No asking anyone nothing. Just telling us what to do, because he made his decision and that’s everyone’s decision. I just had to clench my teeth because if I opened my mouth I would have popped off.”

“He said what!?” Vanessa asks Jamie, incredulous. The two of them stand in the woods with Irene and Marco as well.

“He said ‘it’s a shame Irene’s gotta go,’” Jamie repeats.

“Like it was our marching orders!” Marco adds. “I’ll promise you this, right here, I’m not putting your name down tonight, Irene.”

“Oh, wow, uh, well I appreciate that Marco, I’m also not putting your name down tonight,” Irene tells him, clearly still bewildered and processing.

“I know we’ve all been saying Ryan for, like, the whole time,” Jamie continues, “but I’ve lost all faith in Andrew. He’s just as untrustworthy as she is but he’s way more dangerous. He’s got the idol.”

“You’re absolutely sure?” Vanessa presses.

“I can’t be positive, because he was saying he didn’t have it. But if you’d seen him, he was lyin’, Ness! He’s not good at it, that’s how you can tell.”

“Forget the idol,” Irene says. “If he wants me out, I want him out.”

“Andrew really, really made me angry. I’ve been the only one sticking up for him this whole time–and how does he repay that? By basically demanding that I be voted out? I knew that Ryan just needed to throw someone under the bus because she was obviously going to try and save herself. And so this whole time I’ve just been telling myself that’s all it is, people letting Ryan get in their head. And now I just feel like an idiot. Like I was totally naive. It’s a real wake up call, I can say that. I don’t want to get voted out now, I’m not ready to go home. I’m in this to win now, and Andrew’s got another thing coming to him if he thinks he can just bulldoze me like I’m nothing.”

“I’m ready for him to go too, man, you don’t even know,” Marco agrees.

“He’s coming after me, he’s got the idol, I just can’t see a single good reason for him to stay, not one,” Irene continues.

“Now hold up,” says Vanessa. “If y’all are down to vote Andrew, then I will join in, no problems, but can we please just think about what happens if he actually plays the idol? Irene goes home. If we all vote Ryan, that can’t happen.”

“Well that’s why we gotta make sure he doesn’t play it, then,” Marco says. “We just gotta kiss his ass, act like we’re on board with his plan, but I swear Irene, I’ll be lying to him if he asks me what I’m gonna do. I’ll let him think it, but I won’t do it, okay?”

“Yeah, no, of course, I trust you guys. I mean, I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Irene says, nervously.

“What about Ryan?” asks Jamie.

“What do you mean?” Vanessa asks in return.

“I mean, what do we tell Ryan is happening tonight?” says Jamie.

“We can’t let her know,” Marco says. “She’s too desperate to shake things up, we don’t need her running back to the Captain. We vote–one, two, three four–for Andrew,” he explains, pointing to each of them as he counts. “Irene, you and Vanessa have to keep him thinking you’re voting for Ryan like you don’t know what’s about to happen.”

“My ass is totally on the line if we go with this plan. I trust my alliance–Vanessa, Jamie, Marco–so it’s not like I’m scared one of them is going to do something crazy. But if Jamie’s right, and I think he is, then Andrew has the hidden immunity idol. So if he gets wind that the hit is in on him? He could use it. That cancels all the votes against him, and then I go home instead. If we all vote for Ryan, it doesn’t matter who Andrew votes for or if uses the idol or not, Ryan would go. So it’s a really big decision I have to make.”

“Well, Ryan, I want to be the bearer of news that I think you’ll appreciate,” Andrew says. He and Ryan are walking along the far edge of the woods, where the trees thin out, collecting firewood together.

“Oh, yeah? Really, what is it?”

“I want to be the one to officially welcome you to Day Thirteen of Survivor: India. You’re not going home tonight.”

“Oh my–are you serious right now?” Ryan asks, stunned.

“We need to win, and you’ve been kicking butt in these challenges. You’re an asset to this team and you’re not going anywhere.”

“Oh my god oh my god! Thank you!” Ryan squeals with delight as she pulls Andrew in for a hug. “That’s like, all I’ve been hoping to hear, you know?”

“It’s gonna be Irene tonight. She’s just not contributing as much towards wins as everyone else is.”

“Wow. I thought you guys were like, super close, you know? But hey, not that I don’t agree!”

“I need to make use of every tool at my disposal, and Ryan’s a tool. If she’s gonna be sticking around, then there is no reason why I can’t get a head start on getting her in my good graces.”

“Andrew told me to vote for you,” Ryan tells Irene.

“Really?” Irene says, feigning shock. “What did he say exactly?”

“He was basically saying that we have to start winning challenges and that he didn’t think you’d be able to help the tribe with that,” Ryan says. “And like, I thought you two were like this, you know?” she crosses her fingers to demonstrate.

“Yeah. So did I,” Irene says, pondering. “He really said that to you?”

“Girl, I promise! I swear I’m not lying, we were just down at the clearing for like, twenty minutes talking about it.”

“It’s my lucky day! I can’t believe how everything has lined up for me, you know? I’ve been trying to go after Andrew for this whole freakin’ game and it’s like he just hands me a silver bullet! And I’m gonna shoot him down with it. I’m really excited for Tribal Council tonight. This is why I wanted to play this game. This is what it’s really about.”

“Anyway, I just want you to know that information, you know? It’s yours to like, do with whatever you want, I swear,” Ryan continues. “But I just wanted to like, make sure you know that tonight, my vote is going right at the Captain. So if you want to make that move, I’m here for you to make it.”

Irene nods, slowly, chewing on her fingernails. “Yeah. Thanks for the heads up, Ryan. Seriously, it’s not out of the realm of consideration, at all.”

“What do you want to do?” Vanessa asks Irene. “This is your ass on the line here, but I’m with you on whatever decision you want to make.”

“I wish I had, like, a crystal ball,” Irene says, laughing nervously.

“Well I mean, you know where I stand,” Vanessa says. “Nothing would put a bigger smile on my face than being able to put down Ryan’s name tonight.”

“At our other Tribal Councils I felt like I knew exactly what was going to happen when I walked in. Tonight I think is the first night that could be a shocker. You know, do we make a move against Andrew and put Irene at risk? Does going against Andrew put all of us at risk? That idol is like a bomb that could blow up the whole game, for everyone. And how the hell do you defuse a bomb? I’m not some kind of specialist on that. So I think we’re just gonna have to see how it all shakes out and see if anything explodes.”

Now down to only six, the members of the Saap Tribe take their seats, the three women in the front, the men in the back.

“Saap Tribe,” Jeff begins, “It’s a pleasure to have you back.”

“I wish I could say it’s a pleasure to be back, Jeff, but I’m trying to keep lying to a minimum here,” laughs Ryan.

“Well that’s a great place to start, Ryan,” Jeff says. “You said you’re keeping lying to a minimum. Does that mean you have lied so far in this game?”

“Absolutely!” Ryan says with a laugh. “But that’s the thing, this is a game, just like you said, you know? Everyone’s lying, you just have to figure out when those lies are being directed at you.”

“Jeff, Ryan has put herself in a position on the outs of this tribe because she’s lied and nobody else has,” Andrew explains. “If she wants to try and justify it, she’s welcome to say whatever she pleases, but that doesn’t make it true.”

“Oh, is that really the case, Captain? You ain’t lied?” Marco asks. “Cause I’m gonna have to call B-S on that. Who’d you tell Irene you were gonna vote for tonight?”

“What did I tell Irene?” Andrew reiterates. “I told her what I told her, that’s none of your business.”

“You told her to vote Ryan, that’s what you told her,” says Marco. “But is Ryan going home tonight, Captain?”

“I can’t answer that question, Marco. Everyone has total control over their own vote. I know what I believe will be happening tonight. If everyone else chooses to vote in a different way than I believe they’ll be voting, that’s completely up to them. So whatever I suggested isn’t relevant here.”

“Marco, you don’t seem to be satisfied with the answers you’re getting,” Jeff points out.

“Yeah, well that’s because I’m not satisfied. I don’t see why we gotta make a big deal and lie about it like this–Irene, it’s you tonight, it’s not Ryan. That’s what’s the plan. Sorry,” Marco says with a shrug. “I just can’t put up with the bull anymore, Jeff. If Irene is going home, she deserves the right to know. It was supposed to be Ryan, but we gotta think about the challenges, so it got changed. And I think Irene deserves to know that it’s got changed on her.”

“What is with the hostility, Marco?” Andrew asks, astonished.

“I’m not being hostile, bro, but I’m not gonna sit here and let you just lie out your teeth! You didn’t have to say nothing. You didn’t have to say nothin. But you sit here and go ‘I ain’t lied?’ I’m calling bull. What’s the point in lying to Irene, huh? What’s she gonna do?”

“Irene, you don’t seem terribly surprised by this,” Jeff points out.

“I mean, I am but I’m not,” Irene says. “Like, I’m not completely delusional or out of my mind, okay? I’m not under any sort of impression that I’m this great athlete or this person who is really just, you know, that clutch challenge performer who is totally not expendable. If everyone else is worried about not being able to win challenges, I get it, so that’s why I’m not surprised. But uh, I trusted Andrew a lot, so to find out that he’s the one leading the charge? That doesn’t feel too good.”

“I’m not leading any charge,” Andrew once again states. “Jeff, this seems to be a recurring problem for me with this tribe. I don’t understand why when a tough choice has to be made, it comes down on me as if it was all my decision.”

“In all fairness to Andrew,” Ryan says, “He does, you know, take a leader role in this tribe. So like, I think it’s natural people will listen to what he says, you know? He’s got that authority about him.”

“Vanessa,” asks Jeff. “How about you? Is this something you’ve experienced, Andrew having authority in the tribe?”

“Oh, of course,” says Vanessa. “He’s the Captain, you know? He’s used to calling the shots and he’s good at it. I mean, I don’t know what shots he’s calling, though, because nobody told me that we were supposed to be voting Irene tonight.”

“Nobody is supposed to be doing anything but making the choice they think is their best choice,” Andrew says.

“Right,” Marco agrees, “and according to you that best choice is vote for Irene, which is what is going to happen.”

“All I’m saying, Jeff,” continues Vanessa, “is if that Andrew wants to sit and claim that he hasn’t lied, he’s welcome to do that. But he’s got a funny definition of a lie because he told me we were voting out Ryan and he told Ryan–”

“–to vote out Irene,” Ryan finishes.

“So what’s the truth, Jeff? That’s the question,” Vanessa says.

“Andrew, you have to admit, you’ve been caught here. Ryan and Vanessa have conflicting stories, based on discussions they’ve had with you. How do you justify that as not lying?”

“Okay, alright, so it’s bending the truth, but like Ryan said, this is a game, that’s to be expected. I’m sure there are plenty of other people in the tribe who are bending the truth as well.”

“That’s what I said in the first place!” Ryan exclaims. “You’re the one who went out of your way to say you hadn’t lied.”

“Andrew, are you at all worried for yourself tonight?” asks Jeff.

“I’m always worried Jeff. You’d be a fool not to be. But I do think that tonight, my tribemates recognize my strengths and that they’re going to need those going forward.”

“Ryan,” Jeff says, “at the start of this, you said you’d lied as well. Are you worried?”

“Well, you know Jeff, it’s like the Captain said, you’d be a fool not to worry every time, but I’ve had reason to worry, you know? I’m on the bottom of this tribe. They can talk all they want about how they want to stay strong for challenges, but maybe telling me that Irene is going is them just lying to me, you know?”

“Jamie, we’ve heard a few names, we’ve talked about who has lied, who hasn’t, who is strong in challenges… how are you basing your vote tonight?”

“That’s a very good question, Jeff,” Jamie says. “I think for me it’s about my gut. You can use your head as much as you want in this game, but you can usually tell in your gut what the right move is. There are pros and cons to every choice you make in this game, and you can only do so much to identify them and make those informed decisions. After a certain point you just kind of have to hold your breath, jump in, and hope you make it back to the surface okay. There’s a good reason to keep everyone, there’s a good reason to get rid of everyone, and that includes me. I’m the only one playing for Jamie Orth here, so I’m just as much a target as anyone else.”

“Well on that note,” Jeff asks, “should we find out who the target really is? It’s time to vote. Ryan, you’re up first.

“You fell right into my trap, Cap. Tonight, you go down. Sorry!”

Jamie votes.

“I’m sorry that things had to end this way for you. You’re a great kid and I wish we could have played together for longer.”

Vanessa votes.

“It would have been really cool if I could have trusted you.”

With the votes in place, Jeff heads off to collect the urn. Andrew stares across the fire at the empty space. Ryan nervously fidgets with her pigtail. Vanessa and Irene hold hands, anticipating. Jeff returns with the votes.

“Once the votes are read,”Jeff says, returning with the voting urn, “the decision is final. The person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I’ll read the votes.”

“I would have loved to stick it out with my pal here a little longer,” Andrew says, approaching Jeff, “but if it’s me or him tonight, it’s gotta be him.” Andrew hands the idol over to Jeff, and returns to his seat. Jeff examines the jeweled pendant.

“The rules of Survivor state that if the hidden immunity idol is played, any votes cast against that person will not count. This is the hidden immunity idol. Any votes cast for Andrew will not count. I’ll read the votes.”

Ryan stands and shrugs. “Hey, that was pretty incredible,” she says. “No hard feelings guys, that was a blast.” She takes her torch to Jeff and places it before flicking her pigtails back behind her shoulders.

“Ryan, the tribe has spoken. It’s time for you to go.” Jeff snuffs her torch. Irene turns and waves to the Saap Tribe.

“Kick some Bandar ass, guys!” Ryan says, smiling as she heads out of the temple and out of the game.

“Well,” Jeff says, turning to address the remaining members of Saap, “It seems to me that this game just witnessed its’ first big blindside. And that means anyone could be next, so make sure you’re keeping your eyes open and your minds open. Grab your torches, head back to camp. Goodnight.”

Jamie sighs heavily as he takes his torch. Behind him follow four others, their glowing flames fading into darkness.

Twelve remain. Who will be the next to go?

“Oh my god, can you believe it? I had Andrew out, ugh, if only he hadn’t played that dumb idol! But I can’t be mad, it’s part of the game, and I had so, so, so much fun! I’d do it again in a heartbeat. When else do you get to test yourself like this? And like, you know what? No matter what, I can, you know, go home and tell everyone that I lived for twelve frickin’ days in the jungle with no food, no water, no shelter, and I made it, you know? And that’s pretty amazing. And I got to play this incredible game and meet some really cool people along the way. I couldn’t leave any more proud of myself or thrilled with this experience.”